What Can SMEs Do To Improve Customer Retention
While trying to compete with bigger firms may seem a struggle, when it comes to customer retention, small is beautiful. Our research suggests that a smaller client base gives SMEs the opportunity to take customer service from the purely commercial into something more personal. This is the space to occupy in order to champion customer retention.
Build Relationships And Appreciate Your Customers
Do you remember the days of going into a corner shop and having the owner know your name and regular order? That feeling is what SMEs should be relaying to all their customers.
Try to build a relationship with your regular clients. Pay attention to their needs and anticipate them. Be ready with special offers or loyalty bonuses, so they have a tangible expression of their importance to the firm.
Learn to be motivated by what is good for them. Be friendly when you greet them – a smile and a nod – and when they leave, say thank you and wish them well.
Send personalised follow-up emails, or letters, letting them know you are available to answer questions and reassuring them that your company is committed to their satisfaction. Offering help before it is needed sends a powerful message.
Combine friendliness with high-quality service, and you will create a better chance to have satisfied and repeat customers.
Have Multiple Channels With Consistent Service Across All of Them
SMEs should be using multiple ways to reach customers; at least a website and a presence on social media. This is a given. But what is not expressed enough is the need for all these channels to work in concert.
I recently read about one MD who held an informal Q&A session on an Internet messageboard, inviting questions about his company’s products. He was being proactive and reaching out to potential purchasers.
But when a customer later emailed the firm querying a point raised in the session, the CSR replying did not know what he was talking about. Why? She had not been briefed about the MD’s Q&A. This lack of internal communication reflected badly on the company.
The more channels you operate, the more rigorous you must be to ensure they are all working together. Retention is also about reassurance. Do not give your clients any reason to doubt your company’s professionalism.
Own up to Mistakes And Treat All Complaints Fairly
Your service should be consistently excellent, but it must always be at least consistent. Be honest about what you can do for a customer and realistic in what you can achieve for them.
But always remember that customer loyalty is earned when things go wrong.
It is when someone complains that their true opinion of your company will be forged.
If they feel that you made a genuine mistake and you are trying to rectify it quickly and fairly – translation: putting their needs first – they will trust you more. Think of their predicament and do everything you can to resolve the matter to their satisfaction. What may seem inconsequential to you might be very important to them.
A prime example of this comes from 1980s America, where a bank cashier would not reimburse a shabbily-dressed customer for a 50c parking charge. While paying for parking was normally the bank’s policy, even its manager refused when the matter was escalated.
The excuse given? The man came in simply to deposit a cheque; this was not seen as warranting the 50c.
A week later the customer ended his 30-year relationship with the bank, closed his $1 million account and signed up with a competitor down the road.
Treat your customers as you would want to be treated and they will stay with you for many years. But never take them for granted and always be vigilant about their needs.
